Uncle George was not
really my uncle, he was a family friend.
He was also one of the nicest men I have ever met. The author Ajith Fernando mentions Uncle
George in two of his books. He says that
Uncle George showed him ‘the beauty of godliness.’ Do you want to display the beauty of
godliness? Do you want to become more
like Jesus? This passage shows us how!
The
acts of the sinful nature are obvious (18-20)
If
you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law
(18). We have seen that the Law of Moses
was in place from Mount Sinai to Jesus.
The false-teachers wanted to use it to justify themselves. However, the law actually exposes our
rebellion. Our problem with sin reveals
the fact that we have a sinful nature.
The ‘sinful nature’
[literally ‘flesh’] is our twisted inclination to ignore God and live for
self. Paul says that the sort of things
the flesh prompts us to do are obvious.
Yet even though they are easy to see in other people we often choose to
be blind about them in ourselves. Faithful
are the wounds of a friend (Proverbs 27:6).
Try to be someone who invites correction without getting in a huff if we
disagree with their diagnosis.
Notice that the list
ends with the words, ‘and the like’. This is only a sampling of the desires of our
sinful nature. We could easily add to
this list!
You might to be too
respectable to be tempted by orgies, drunkenness and witchcraft, but what about
impurity, jealousy and envy? You may
never have had an affair, but do your eyes wander? Are you driven by pride and selfish ambition? Do you think that another purchase might fill
the void in your life? Don’t we all
spend too much time thinking about what people feel about us? Do you think your life would be easier if you
had someone else’s gifts, possessions or marriage?
When you think about
the influence of your sinful nature heed the words of the Paul, who writes,
‘let anyone who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall’ (1 Cor. 10:12).
Encountering
Jesus brings inevitable transformation (21)
Having given a list of
some of the obvious desires of the sinful nature Paul then warns us that those who live like this will not inherit
the kingdom of God (21).
The verb for live is in
the present tense, indicating a lifestyle rather than a lapse. If someone, who claims to be a Christian,
comes to you distraught about a sin they have committed, reassure them of God’s
gracious promises of forgiveness. If
they come and confess that they are struggling with a particular sin, encourage
them and offer to help keep them accountable.
But if they aren’t looking for help, and are happy to live a life that
ignores God’s commands towards love and holiness, then you need to tearfully
warn them that they might not be born again.
All through this series
on Galatians I have sought to underline the fact that you do not contribute
anything to God’s acceptance of you. God
has taken the perfect life of Jesus and given it to you in order that he may
see you as if you had always perfectly obeyed him. God has taken all you past, present and
future sin and nailed it to the cross of Jesus so that you need never fear
being condemned. All you have done is
put out your hand in repentance and faith to accept this gift. Indeed, that very action of seeing your need
and placing your trust in Christ was itself a gift of God. When you have genuinely encountered Jesus
then it will transform your life. You
are not what you ought to be or one day will be. But you are changing and you know that sin
that you cannot rest in sin.
The
character of Christ is being produced from within you (22-23)
Indeed before you
became a Christian your sinful nature always got its way. Of course you did things that you thought
were good, because your pride motivated you towards many self-righteous works. Even when you were motivated by genuine
compassion, you soon began to self-congratulate and look for praise. It wasn’t that you never resisted temptation—you
did not want to live with the shame or consequences of moral failure. It wasn’t that you were as bad as you could
have been—God graciously restrained you from much evil. However, every action and thought was
dominated by self-centredness and self-absorption. But now the person of the Holy Spirit dwells
within you, and he is opposed to your sinful nature. You have a conflict within!
The fruit of the Spirit
is in stark contrast with the acts of the sinful nature. John Stott writes, ‘The mere recital of these
Christian graces should be enough to make our mouths water and the heart beat
faster. For this is a portrait of Jesus
... this is the kind of person that every Christian longs to be.’
The word translated
‘fruit’ is singular—stressing that these qualities are a unity ‘like a bunch of
grapes instead of separate pieces of fruit, and also that they are all to be
found in all Christians’ (Boice). By
nature you may seem strong in some of these verses, but when these virtues are
the result of the Holy Spirit they all exist together.
So you may appear like
you are self-controlled—because you have always lived a disciplined life—but
that discipline could be rooted in pride and lacks joy. You may appear loving—because you are an
extravert who enjoys meeting new people—but you lack patience and faithfulness
and so don’t stick at friendships. You
may appear to be at peace—because you are unflappable—but the truth is that you
are just indifferent. You may have a
happy disposition—when things are going well.
There is a difference between being gentle and being timid. May the Holy Spirit bring each of these
virtues to our lives in an authentic way!
Christians
experience a conflict within (24-25)
Those
who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature (24). He is talking about something every Christian
has done. As God brought us into his
family he caused us to desire to make a break from our old way of living. We were declaring ‘I no longer want to live a
life that simply aims to satisfy the desires if the sinful nature, I want to
live for Jesus.’ As a friend recently
said to me, 'this whole thing of living for self just doesn't work.' God was enabling us to nail the sinful nature
to an instrument of death. You are no
longer its slave!
But the flesh still
troubles us. There is conflict within! Think of the sinful nature as a criminal
pinned to a cross, defeated and dying, but not yet dead. The flesh is dying, but sis still
dangerous. The flesh taunts you, and
tempts you to satisfy its desires. The
flesh has been weakened, but still has influence. We need to depend on the Holy Spirit to
overcome its malevolent influence. So
let us keep on walking by the Spirit! That’s how we change!
Conclusion—How
to change
I began by asking if,
like Uncle George, you want to display the beauty of godliness and if you want
to become more like Jesus. The key to
change is to live by the Spirit (16 and 25), and keep in step with the Spirit
(25). These verbs speak of progress,
development and growth. ‘To opt for the
status quo … is to miss the adventure of life in the Spirit’ (Jackman). But how do we walk in the Spirit?
Think of the word
‘fruit’. Fruit grows slowly but
inevitably when there is life. You may
not be what you ought to be, you are not what you will be, but you should be
growing. Jesus associated fruit with
abiding/remaining in him (John 15). He
spoke of remaining in him in connection with prayer, his word and obedience. Walking in the Spirit involves willingness to
being led.
The willingness to
being led involves a new set of desires.
The Spirit desires what is contrary to the sinful nature (17). Elsewhere, Paul speaks about God causing us
to will and act according to his good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). He also speaks of the renewing of your mind
(Rom. 12:2). You cannot cultivate two
opposing desires at the same time. Feed
your mind with truth and error will flee.
Pursue a passion for purity and the ugliness of lust will be
exposed. Delight yourself in the
Lord! Seek his face! ‘Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his
wonderful face, and the things of the world will go strangely dim, in the light
of his glory and grace.’
Finally, remember what
we have learned about the Holy Spirit as we have studied Galatians. He causes us to cry out ‘Abba, Father’
(4:6). Pray in the Spirit as you depend
humbly on your heavenly Father. Walk in
the Spirit of adoption as you remind yourself that God has accepted you as a
dearly loved child, and that nothing can separate you from his love. Walk in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
when you allow God’s people challenge you, comfort you and encourage you. Walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify
the desires of the sinful nature (18).
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